Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius is reportedly selling the luxury Pretoria house, where he shot and killed his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, in order to pay for his legal bills.
Pistorius had planned to keep his home 'sealed' until after his ongoing murder trial, but it is now necessary to sell it to fund his defence because the double amputee's trial will last longer than the initial three-week period that was predicted.
According to Stuff.co.nz, Pistorius' family lawyer Brian Webber said in a statement that the Blade Runner has not returned to the upscale Pretoria villa since the day he shot his girlfriend over a year ago as he 'cannot contemplate ever returning to live there again'.
Webber further said that Pistorius decided to urgently dispose of his 'single biggest asset' due to the delay in finalising the trial, adding that Pistorius valued the house, which was returned to him by the police, at 456,000 US dollars at his bail hearing last year.
The report mentioned that the house is being sold by the estate agency of Pistorius' longtime track coach, Ampie Louw, who first convinced a teenaged Pistorius that he had a talent for running.
Pistorius' murder trial was initially planned to run March 3 to March 20, but prosecutors are still presenting evidence and expect to continue with their case until the middle of next week and as such, the trial is expected to run into April and maybe longer, the report added.
